Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Feeling good
I sneakily led one of my friends towards this site so he would see what I've been up to. I didn't tell him to do a google search on a refugee who rode a bike, but that might have been smoother. The report comes back that I sound bitter. When I look at some of the stuff I've written lately, I can see how someone would make that mistake. So it's time to bring up a few feel-good news items.
Number 1. Tanya and three of her friends rode their bikes to Stratford. Very cool. Wouldn't it be great if everyone tried things like this?
Number 2. Check out Bikely. This may be the bicycle map/route sharing tool we've all been waiting for. (via Cleverchimp)
Number 3. Cycling is still the best way to get around for so many reasons. My coworker who started cycling to work this year was standing in front of a television showing a commercial mid-Oprah. The commercial was for some weight loss program that guaranteed success through some mysterious technique that you'd find out after sending in your first payment of $69.99. His response: "Just ride a bike!" So true.
Number 4. I'm seeing a lot of regulars out there on the commute. I have a very slow and lazy morning routine, and I leave home whenever I feel like I'm ready, yet I still manage to see the same cyclists at the exact same place. Sometimes I wonder if I'm a character in a real-life Truman Show. (If I am, this would be a good time to tell me).
Number 5. My wife has started riding her bike around our neighbourhood. I love it. She's been riding down to Yonge and Eglinton to play badminton, then I meet up with her to ride home. It doesn't get better than that.
Number 1. Tanya and three of her friends rode their bikes to Stratford. Very cool. Wouldn't it be great if everyone tried things like this?
Number 2. Check out Bikely. This may be the bicycle map/route sharing tool we've all been waiting for. (via Cleverchimp)
Number 3. Cycling is still the best way to get around for so many reasons. My coworker who started cycling to work this year was standing in front of a television showing a commercial mid-Oprah. The commercial was for some weight loss program that guaranteed success through some mysterious technique that you'd find out after sending in your first payment of $69.99. His response: "Just ride a bike!" So true.
Number 4. I'm seeing a lot of regulars out there on the commute. I have a very slow and lazy morning routine, and I leave home whenever I feel like I'm ready, yet I still manage to see the same cyclists at the exact same place. Sometimes I wonder if I'm a character in a real-life Truman Show. (If I am, this would be a good time to tell me).
Number 5. My wife has started riding her bike around our neighbourhood. I love it. She's been riding down to Yonge and Eglinton to play badminton, then I meet up with her to ride home. It doesn't get better than that.
Darren J 7/19/2006 08:18:00 p.m.
2 Comments:
You‘re quite right. It’s easy to concentrate on anger over pleasure in many blogs. I had a similar reaction when I began consulting blogs about commuting, including yours. Frankly, it didn’t seem that much fun at times when all I read about were accidents and basic hatred of cars, drivers, etc. Of course, reading further and deeper made me realize that there are a lot of lessons to be learned from bad experiences – and many good reasons to continue to remind us of them -- as well as good lessons and inspiration from the good times on a bike (which is by far more the rule than the exception, at least in my limited experience). It isn’t easy to strike the right balance. Just keep up the good work.
It is easy to get fed up and cranky with situations with drivers (especially where you bike in the suburbs), so focusing on the positive is harder at times, but well worth it.
I have to agree about biking with wives... it's a lot of fun when Tracy and I commute downtown together in the morning. :)
I have to agree about biking with wives... it's a lot of fun when Tracy and I commute downtown together in the morning. :)